says held the cat while Aguigui tor-
tured it, was similarly uneasy about the
progress of FEAR: "I wasn't expecting
ittoblowuptobewhatitendedup
becoming."
At about 9 P.M. on December 5, 2011,
Burnett told me, he got a call from
Anthony Peden, who was at the Sal-
mons' house. "I need you to come over
now," he said. "It's an emergency."
Worried that something had gone
wrong with Heather's pregnancy, Bur-
nett roused his son and drove there.
"Are you O.K.?" he said when he saw
Heather. "What's the emergency?"
Heather told him that Roark, who a few
days earlier had been discharged from
the Army for repeated misconduct, had
mistakenly left his cell phone at her
house; on it, she found text messages
saying that he was planning to return to
his home town, near Seattle. York, his
girlfriend, was also leaving, to stay with
her father, in California. Burnett didn't
understand what the problem was.
"Who cares?" he said.
"Tonight's the night," Aguigui said.
"We're going to kill Roark and his
girlfriend."
The group had resolved to kill Roark
a week or two earlier, Aguigui later
testified. "It started off as a conversation
about punishment," he said. Aguigui be-
lieved that Roark had stolen the money,
and York had mentioned to Heather that
he had rented a storage locker. Aguigui
guessed that Roark was stealing weap-
ons, which further inflamed him. Be-
cause Roark "couldn't be trusted to be si-
lent about the operations of the group,"
Aguigui said, "it was decided by the
group as a whole that he would need to
be executed."
To lure Roark to the Salmons' house,
Aguigui told me, he had instructed Bur-
nett to invite him to go night shooting.
When Roark arrived, it became evident
that there was a hitch in the plan: he had
brought York with him. To buy time,
Aguigui told Roark and York to go pick
up provisions; they drove to a store called
Sunset Novelties and bought some
herbal stimulants. After they left, Agui-
gui debated the girl's fate with his "four
counsellors." Heather and Burnett ar-
gued that she should be spared. Peden
said that she was "far too dangerous to be
kept alive," and Salmon agreed. "It was
tied," Aguigui wrote. He cast the decid-
ing vote to kill her.
Burnett says that he walked into the
kitchen to talk to Heather. "This is a ter-
rible idea," he told her. "We need to con-
vince him not to do it." She replied, "The
decision is made." (Heather denied any
involvement in the plans.) Burnett re-
peated his concerns to Phish, who ig-
nored him. Brandishing a pistol, Aguigui
threatened to kill Burnett's son if he
didn't come along. "You don't have a
choice," Burnett remembers him saying.
Burnett was scared: "There are four peo-
ple in the house capable of killing rela-
tively easily." He agreed to go, leaving his
sleeping son in Heather's care.
When Roark and York returned, the
other members of FEAR---Aguigui,
Peden, Salmon, and Burnett---got into
Aguigui's Jeep. Aguigui left his cell
phone behind, and, as they drove, he
communicated with Roark by two-way
radio. He wanted to leave the area---too
close to home---so Roark suggested a
place near Morgan Lake, outside Ludo-
wici, a small town with only one traffic
light. In the car, Aguigui ordered Burnett
to shoot York. Aguigui wanted to test
him, since "he seemed hesitant about the
whole situation." Burnett refused, and
the atmosphere grew tense. Peden inter-
vened, saying, "I'll do it." Salmon, as-
signed to kill Roark, was less resistant.
"He seemed excited," Burnett said. "He
was, like, 'I can't believe I'm going to do
this,' but he was 'up' about it."
Near a large metal sculpture of a man
in a top hat---the mascot of a defunct
business---Roark turned onto a dirt road
that headed to the lake. His voice came
over the radio, "I know a place where we
can go." Roark pulled over, and the oth-
ers followed. It was quiet in the Jeep as
Aguigui handed gloves to Peden and
Salmon. Burnett noted Aguigui's man-
ner---calm, almost nonchalant---and
thought, How can I live through this
night without getting murdered?
Everyone got out, and Peden walked
to the passenger side of Roark's car. As
York opened the door, Peden shot her
in the head with the Judge pistol. He
felt her pulse, and then shot her a sec-
ond time. Salmon, pointing his pistol,
ordered Roark to get out of the car and
onto his knees. "I told him the only rea-
son Tiffany had to be executed was be-
cause he had failed to follow instruc-
tions," Aguigui said. As Aguigui interro-
gated him, Roark revealed the location
and the combination of the storage
locker. He admitted he'd taken money,
but said that it was spent. Peden handed
Salmon the Judge, and Salmon pointed
it at the back of Roark's head and shot.
As they returned to the Jeep, Peden
told Salmon to "double tap." Salmon
"The problem? The problem is that, for every rock I earn
doing the same work as you, you earn two rocks."